The Interrogation
by ARandomInterloper
Summary: Cass is an Octarian Elite trapped in a Lava Lamp for interrogation and Arnold is a part-time Agent making sure she stays in there. A Life in Inkopolis side-story. Rated T for some course language and adult situations.
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place between "LII Chapters 23 and 25." This is a short-story detailing Cass's incarceration in "LII" as I felt it was getting a little long and wanted to focus on some other things before the tournament. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Life in Inkopolis: The Interrogation**

Chapter 1

 **Prisoner's POV**

"Answeres." Marie glared at me. "Now."

"Fine…" I groaned.

"First off, since it shouldn't put your life in danger," Marie noted. "Detail the Salmonlings. Their traits and what they're like."

"Well, they're basically humanoid Salmonids." I explained. "They can do almost everything we can do, but they can also swim. They're also kind of annoying due to their immature, childish behavior and complete lack of public decency. Sieg says he can whip them into shape, but he's got his work cut out for him."

"Good." Marie said. "Now, why are you interested in the tournament?"

"I can't answer that." I told her.

"Right…" Marie noted.

"How are you an Elite?!" That little Octoling runt demanded to know.

"I'm sorry," I lied. "Who are you?"

"Mei Argo!" She said. "My cousin is Guyver Wolfi. You oversaw our training in Octo Valley."

"Spe-ci-fy." I told her.

"You threw a wrench at Guyver because he stood on top of the Octostomp." She told me.

"Oh yeah…" I remembered. "My aim was on point that day."

"Answer my question!" She ran out of patience. "Why are you an Elite? Who in their right mind would make you an Elite? Why hasn't someone killed you yet?!"

"Mei!" Agent 3 was surprised to hear her talk like that.

"I'm an Elite because I'm better than you," I told her. "Sieg made me an Elite, and I haven't been killed because fate decided that I deserve to live."

"You-" She was stopped by Agent 3.

"How would you describe Sieg as a leader?" Marie asked.

"We don't exactly see eye-to-eye, for many reasons, but he promoted me to Elite, so I do what he says…mostly…and it works out for me." I told them. "If you ask another soldier from the Gorge, they'll go on about how he's an inspiration; someone who'll defend his people to his last breath and will lead them to victory."

"Is it possible to reason with him?" Marie asked. "Maybe ask for peace?'

"He doesn't see that as a possibility." I told them. "I actually asked him if he was considering that once. He told me that after a hundred years of inaction on your part and past attempts at communication failing miserably, it's obvious you Inklings want us buried and forgotten."

"That's not true!" Mei told me.

"Whether it is or not doesn't matter, runt." I told her. "No one else thinks Inklings and Octolings can get along."

"Yes we can!" She asserted. "There are Octolings in Inkopolis right now!"

"How many of them outside of the Splatoon know you're Octolings?" I asked her. "Our spy told us that everyone else thinks you're just Inklings following a haircut fad. If they knew the truth, what would they think of you?"

She didn't respond. She just stormed out of there grumbling about how that wasn't true. Agent 3 followed her out.

"Geez, I think Sieg's rubbing off on me." I remarked. "I sounded just like him for a second."

"Callie was right." Arnold remarked. "Cass is much more useful an informant."

"Only when compared to a senile old Octotrooper." Cass stated. "Old fart doesn't know where he is half the time. One time he accidentally left his shower cap on and thought he was a genie."

"Well, I think that's enough for now." Marie said. "What do you want as your cooperation reward?"

"…A blanket, pillow, and more drinks." I listed. "It's uncomfortable in here and I wanna forget this experience as soon as possible."

"Okay." She agreed. "I'll get you the first two and call Pearl to deliver the last thing."

"Kay." I lied back down. "But no more questions until I get all three."

"Right…" Marie walked out. Leaving me with Arnold again.

 **Arnold's POV**

Alone with Cass again. Well, at least she's not drunkenly flirting with me. Her fatigues still didn't help though…

Eventually, Cap'n Cuttlefish came in with a pillow and blanket while Pearl walked in along with a random Inkling wheeling in a fridge.

"Here's the money, Gene." She handed him a wad of cash. "No questions asked."

"Ooookay." He took it and left.

"So, yeah, got ya a fridge." She plugged it in. "Figured this'd probably be the regular thing ya'd ask for."

"You figured right." Cass was impressed. "Now hand it over."

"What's the magic word?" Cap'n Cuttlefish asked.

"Abracadabra." Cass hissed. "Now give it or I'll rip your beard off, old man."

"I heard you were a troubled young lady..." The Cap'n remarked. "Wonder why that is…"

"None of your business." Cass spat. "Now can I get my stuff already? I was promised."

"Right, right…" He handed the stuff over to Pearl, who lowered them in.

"Nice." She took a can out of the box.

"Yo, we should have a drinking contest sometime." Pearl suggested. "I bet'cha I can drink faster than you can think. Yo face'll be pink as I bring you to despair's brink!"

"Rap sucks." Cass stated right before taking a sip.

"You're just jealous you can't do it." Pearl shrugged. "I bet ya can't even sing."

"Yes I can." Cass took another sip. "My singing voice is good enough to make you cry."

"Prove it." She told Cass.

"I don't sing when I'm trying to get wasted." Cass told her.

"Whatevs." Pearl turned to leave. "Later!"

"…and she doesn't even like rappin'." The Cap'n lamented. "She's gonna be a real piece of work."

Cass just ignored him as he left.

"Aaaahh…this is good stuff…" Cass said. "Wonder where she got this…"

I just ignored her.

A whole minute passed without her sipping or opening a can, so I turned to check.

She was lying down, looking right at me with a bored expression on her face.

I flinched a bit, that startled me.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"So why are you watching me and not someone who hasn't let the DJ escape?" She asked.

"Because I actually have backup now and I'm not going to fall asleep on the job this time." I told her.

"So where're you from?" She was weirdly curious.

"Why do you care?" I asked.

"I don't." She stated. "But I'm bored and you're here, so I might as well make conversation."

"Well, if you must know, I've lived all my life in Inkopolis."I told her.

"So your fam's a bunch of city folk?" She asked.

"Not really a 'fam'." I told her. "Mom died when she had me, dad dropped me off at a foster home when I was 5, and I have no siblings. Those answer everything?"

"No siblings?" She raised an eyebrow. "Lucky."

"You did?" I asked.

"Seven." She answered. "They all sucked."

"Where're they now?" I asked.

"Disappeared after three defeated the DJ." She told me. "Maybe they died…I hope that's what happened..."

"What'd they do?" I wondered.

She looked at me a second before cracking open another can.

"Right…" I said. "So what's with the deception and cheating during a fight? Aren't Elites supposed to be skilled in their own right and scoff at dirty tricks?"

She drank the whole can in a few seconds.

She then opened another one.

"Come on, it's just me." I said.

"You wouldn't understand…" She stated.

"Try me." I told her.

"You really wouldn't." She said. "You can splat Elites with your eyes closed."

"It wasn't always that way." I told her. "I actually lagged in ink battles since I was 14, but I had people cheering me on and supporting me. Eventually, with help, I managed to get pretty good at battling around the time I met Beth and Otis."

She didn't say anything. She was just swaying a bit.

"Maybe I'll just let you sleep." I said.

She lied down, head on her pillow. She started snoring.

I took out my phone and played a couple games.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **The Next Day…Cass's POV**

The next day was like the last…I woke up, got food, more interrogating, some more food, and more interrogating. It was mostly questions they knew I couldn't answer. They probably wanted to see if I would crack.

Marina was asking me questions while Pearl was on her phone and Arnold took a nap.

"You know, if you were trying to trick me into revealing something that would get me killed, you clearly know nothing about me." I told Marina.

"Right…" She looked at her laptop. "So, yeah, there's a bunch of black ink over Sieg's file. Why is that?"

"They don't want you to know stuff." I said. "You were in the army. I thought you'd know that."

"I mean, what don't they want us to know?" She facepalmed.

"Can't say…" I shrugged.

"Let's see what your file says…" Of course she looks at the laptop. "Oh, you have sisters."

"No..." My eyes widened.

"Chloe, Carla, Catherine...wait...You were a part of C-group? Wow." She seemed intrigued. "You were grown and entered into the army, age 12; as usual…you didn't become an advanced until age 17?"

I started shaking a bit. She had to read that part?!

"Is that bad?" Pearl asked her.

"If that's true, then she advanced in rank much slower than normal Octolings." Marina explained. "Her sisters became Elites faster than average while she seemed to falter."

"What're you saying?!" I banged on the glass. "That I'm abnormal? A mistake?!"

The duo seemed shocked by my sudden outburst.

"Go ahead, Miss Prodigy!" I shouted. "Laugh it up! Sooner or later, I'll bust outta here and wipe that stupid smile off your ugly bitch face!"

"I'm…not smiling…or laughing..." Marina said, barely phased.

"Hey!" Pearl shot up. "You better take back all that stuff you said about Marina!"

"Make me, midget!" I hissed.

"Both of you stop!" Marina shouted. "As horrible as Cass is, yelling at each other will get us nowhere."

I just lied back down, head on my pillow, and pulled the blanket over me.

"This is why I hate everyone…" I mumbled. "I hate you, I hate forehead, I hate the agents-"

Eventually, they left, Pearl ranting about me the whole time.

 **Arnold's POV**

"Sooo…anything you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Like what?" Cass asked.

"Your outburst." I said. "You just flipped out on Marina."

"Was her own fault." She stated.

"All she did was read a file." I defended her.

"I told her I couldn't answer and she read my file anyway." She told me.

"And you didn't like what she saw…" I noted.

"I don't like anyone looking through my stuff." She said.

"You know, I lagged behind people too." I reminded her. "I didn't lash out at people."

"You don't understand." She groaned.

"I just told you, I've lagged behind people too." I said again. "I kept my head up while you're just acting like a spoiled brat who's jealous that other people are better than you."

"…You sound just like them…" She mumbled.

"Like who?" I asked.

"Don't wanna talk about it." She said.

"Maybe you'll feel better if you do." I suggested, pulling a chair up.

"…Fine, I'll try, but grab me another box from the fridge." She told me. "I'll need it."

I obliged her.

"Just take it slow." I urged her. "I don't want you passing you out in a few minutes."

"I make no promises." She said.

"…So do you plan on apologizing to Marina and Pearl later?" I asked.

"And why would I do that?" She asked. "Like I said, it was her fault."

"Because you keep acting like this and you might regret it later." I said.

"I'm never sorry for anything." She stated. "That'd be giving in. It'd be losing."

"Which you don't like." I noted.

"Who does?" She asked.

"Is that why you fight dirty?" I asked. "To win by any means?"

"Ends justify the means." Cass said. "If I can come out on top, I don't care how I do it."

"So what do you mean by 'I sound like them'?" I wondered. "I'm guessing someone back home's called out your behavior before?"

…

"Was it your sisters?" I wondered.

"I don't wanna talk about them." She said.

"I heard they became Elites at a faster rate than average while you lagged behind." I noted.

…

"You call other people 'runts,' but it sounds like you were one yourself…" I pointed out.

"Don't…call me that…" She sounded angry now.

"Alright Cassie, I won't…" I shrugged.

"Don't call me that either!" She shouted.

"Okay, sorry!" I tried to calm her down.

"I can tell you're trying to help," she said, taking a sip. "But all you're doing is pissing me off."

"I'm just trying to understand you." I told her. "You seem to hate everyone even when you don't have a reason to."

"You wanna know why, squid?" She got against the glass.

"That's the reason I'm asking these questions." I said.

"Imagine your days of lagging behind everyone else," She explained. "But you're related to people who are Elites, leagues ahead of everyone while you can barely keep up with the Average Joes. The one's who're supposed to be close to you leaving you behind."

I kept listening.

"Now imagine being absolutely sure you can succeed, but always failing to the point that everyone keeps telling you to give up already." She explained further. "You'd get so fed up, that you'd make them shut up. You'd do anything to make sure they never looked down on you again, wouldn't you?

"But that would explain your cheating and abuse." I noted.

"It worked…for a while…" She said. "You would too if you felt like you had no other options, wouldn't you?"

"I…I'm not sure…" I really wasn't.

"I tried everything, and I mean everything." She continued. "Some of the things I tried only made things worse. Eventually, some of those people I hurt wanted to hurt me worse, so I transferred out, hoping for something better. It ended up with more people looking down on me and the cycle repeating."

"But you transferred back, right?" I added. "You went back to Octo Gorge. Why?

"Not willingly." She said. "I was put right next to my sisters in Octo Valley. Soon enough, they got so fed up with me that they had me transferred back. I actually begged them not to."

"And the people who wanted to get back at you were waiting..." I guessed. "Well, your actions can come back to bite you in the back."

"I was going to die!" She shouted.

"I'm sure you're exaggerating." I assured her.

"No." She said. "I wasn't.

"Explain." I leaned forward.

"You probably know how I handled recruits, right?" She reminded me. "And how Sieg was once one of my recruits?"

"Yes…" I think I could see where this was going.

"Well, he wasn't always the second chance type for people like me." She told me. "In fact, he had every intention of killing me. If it weren't for Traeger, I would've died."

"What'd he do?" I asked.

"He gave me a picture of some traitor he found." She said. "I pulled it out just as Sieg had his hands around my neck. When he saw it, he released me, left for a day, and came back even less happy. It was then he asked me to be on his personal squad."

"He tried to kill you, and then put you on his squad?" I was confused now.

"I don't know why." She shrugged. "Maybe he hated that traitor more, maybe he wanted to keep an eye on me, or maybe he needed a captain and I just happened to be there. I don't know what else it could be. It was then I finally became an Elite, but I couldn't enjoy it too much because I thought he'd kill me at any moment…I still do sometimes…"

"Huh…" Was all I could say.

"Does that satisfy your curiosity?" She took a sip.

"I guess…" I needed to think about this.

"Good…" She opened another can and took a sip.

"…Why do you stay there, then?" I asked. "You clearly hate it there."

"Why do you care?" She looked at me.

"Just asking…" I said.

"Why would I leave?" She shrugged. "I'm an Elite now, I've got my own squad, I've finally got some respect around the Gorge, and serving under the commander whose most likely to win, and who's also most likely going to punish me when I get back because I wasn't actually supposed to attack those agents in Octopia. Sure, I fear for my life, but everyone does down in the domes."

"If you fear for your life in the domes, why live there?" I asked.

"I don't know, why do all Octarians live in the domes?" She sarcastically asked. "Hint: They have ten limbs."

"It can change." I said.

"Yeah, it will…soon…"

Soon?

"I don't know why you're feelin' sympathy for me." She took another sip. "You know I'm not a good person. I know I'm not a good person."

"You can change." I told her. "I was distant from people too for a while until I found my friends."

"Ha! Hahahaha…You're cute, but you're dumb as bricks…" She remarked. "I don't do friends."

"Don't you have a friend from Octo Valley?" I asked.

"Who? Gracie?" She asked. "She's more of an associate who's good for conversation. I flirted with her once to find out where you were in Octo Canyon. She thinks we can be friends, but I'm not someone who's into the whole 'friendship' thing. All who try friendship with me end up hating me soon enough…Oh Octo, tell me you aren't trying to be friends with me…"

"No," I stated. "But I guess I'm a bit sympathetic because I sort of see myself in you."

"Dude…" She narrowed her eyes. "Keep some thoughts to yourself, young squid…"

"As in we have some similarities." I clarified.

"If you say so…" She took another sip. "Y'know, I've been sharing a lot about myself here. Now's your turn. I wanna ask some questions."

"Alright…" I agreed. "Shoot."

"One more thing," She added. "Don't tell anyone I told my life story to you. I've got an image to keep."

"Alright." I agreed. "Now the questions?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Cass's POV**

Alright, I've told this guy my life story, so now's his turn to tell me some stuff.

"Why're you in the Splatoon?" I asked.

"Beth recruited me because she believed I could be trusted with the job." I told her. "I'm technically not an official agent, but I like to lend a hand."

"…What do you think of Octarians?" I asked. "You splat us all the time after all."

"I do feel sympathy." He assured me. "I actually give Octarians a chance during a fight. It's more Octavio and his scheming that I hate."

"I scheme." I pointed out. "And you're playing therapist with me."

"Octavio's 130 years old." He stated. "Pretty hard for him to change now. You're only 23. You still have a long life ahead of you."

"How old are you?" I wondered.

"I turned 18…today." He said. "I haven't told anyone though."

"Well, happy birthday." I said, half-serious.

"I don't really celebrate birthdays." He said.

"Even I celebrate my birthday." I told him. "Admittedly, by getting drunk in the lounge and hitting on the bartender, but I still say 'happy birthday' to myself while doing it."

"You tend to hit on people, don't you?" He noticed. "You were hitting on my while drunk the other day."

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked. "You don't like it? You got a girlfriend or something?"

"I know what your flirting is for, Cass." He noted. "It's to get what you want from people and I'm not falling for it."

"Didn't answer my last question though." I pointed out.

"If you must know, I haven't had one since about almost a month ago." He told me. "Splatoon work has its downsides…disappearing for hours at a time with flimsy explanations for where you were causes people to make assumptions."

"Aaawww…she broke up with you?" I asked. "Poor baby…I'd give ya a hug if I wasn't stuck behind this glass."

"Please stop…" He groaned. "It's still kind of fresh on my mind."

Wait...idea...

"…I have an idea." I told him.

"What?" He wondered.

"Grab some boxes from the fridge and crack one open." I suggested. "Maybe it'll help ya get that off your mind."

"Cass, I'm not even old enough yet." He said.

"Aw, come on." I urged him. "It's your birthday, you're 18, and you're officially a man now. Celebrate."

"Do you know what Marie would do to me if she found out I did something like that on the job?" He asked.

"Is she your mom?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Do you always do what she says? Do you even get paid for being a secret agent?"

"No…to all of those." He admitted. "But how do I know you won't try anything if I do?"

"Buddy, I'm not wearing the armor or goggles and I've kicked my boots off." I told him. "I'm in full relax mode…why don't you get into your relax mode?"

He went silent for a bit.

"Come on…" I raised a can as he turned to me. "Live a little."

He thought about it for a minute before going to the fridge and grabbing a couple boxes.

"Attasquid!" I cheered. "Make sure ya let me have some. Food too. I'm starving"

He lowered a box in through the top as well as a food tray.

He then took a can out of a box, opened it, and looked at me.

"Go on…" I urged him.

He took a sip.

"It tastes a little funny…" He said.

"It always does at first, but ya quickly get used to it." I told him. "Now let's party!"

 **Later…**

 _"Weigh heigh and up she rises"_

 _"Weigh heigh and up she rises"_

 _"Weigh heigh and up she rises"_

 _"Early in the morning!"_

"Wow." He took another sip. "I thought you were bluffing at first, but you actually do have a beautiful singing voice."

"Aw, thanks." I legitimately meant that. "Wanna duet?"

"Sure!" He agreed.

 **Even Later…**

"And then they get into a fight." He said. "I knew the Salmon run was a bad idea from the start, but I at least hoped they could get along for two seconds!"

"Wow." My eyes widened. "You agents aren't as in-sync as I thought…"

"Yeah, well now she'd spendin' all her time with that Octo-girl and I'm thinkin' 'just kiss her already, Beth'!" He remarked.

"I got'cha one better." I said. "My own squadmate is obsessed with our medic who claims to be intelligent, yet can't seem to understand he's making moves on her. He's basically head over heels for someone who completely ignores him and can't even comprehend emotion. It's completely one-sided."

"Wow…" He said. "What's his name?"

"IIIIIII…can't say…" I told him.

"That's fine." He said. "I don't really care at the moment."

"…So…" I started.

"So what?" He wondered.

"When I drunkenly asked you if I was hot…did you answer?" I asked. "Be honest."

"…Yes…"He admitted.

"What was your answer?" I lied down on my stomach. "Yes or no?"

"…I said yes…" He said. "I figured you'd flip out if I said no."

"Pffft you admitted it!" I started laughing. "You find me attractive!"

"Whatever." He pouted.

"Hey Arnie, I'm done with my food." I said. "Wanna grab my tray?"

"Oh…sure." He climed up the ladder to open the top.

He's a little tipsy now…a little slow…good.

He opened the top and reached his hand in. I gave him the tray, then quickly Superjumped through the top.

I crashed into him and we both fell to the ground.

He quickly started scrambling for his Splattershot. I need to get it away from him. Alright Cass, you got this far. Think fast…

He grabbed his weapon and turned to face me, only to be met with my lips meeting his. I pushed him until his back was against the lamp without breaking lip-contact.

That caught him off-guard. Alright, one hand on his cheek, the other slooowly reaching for his Splattershot. I escape now!

I almost got it when…did he drop it? Why would he-

He then pulled me closer, one hand on the back of my head.

He's…actually kissing me back…wait...

My eyes widened when I felt his tongue.

W-whaaa?!

I…I…

…maybe just a minute longer…

 **Arnold's POV**

I don't know if it was my breakup still on my mind, the drinks, the flirting, or what, but when Cass did that, I just snapped. I pulled her closer and immediately began tongue-wrestling with her. All thoughts telling me to stop just melted away. My better judgement faded. At that moment, I just didn't care.

I ended up sitting on the ground with my back against the lamp with Cass sitting on my lap. My hands were on her back and hers were on my shoulders. It seemed like she was just into it as I was if her blushing was a sign of anything.

After about 10 minutes of making out, my senses finally came back to me. I broke the kiss.

She looked confused and tilted her head. "Something wrong…?"

"Sorry…I, uh…need to breathe a second." I told her.

She blinked a few times and shook her head a bit.

"So…" She smiled and leaned back. "How was that for a birthday present?"

"Honestly…?" I responded. "If I got more like that, I'd celebrate more birthdays…"

"Good to know." She smirked.

I then felt a hit to my neck.

My vision faded and I blanked out.

…

…

"Arnold!" I heard a voice say. "Arnold!"

I opened my eyes to find Marie shaking me awake. Marina was turning on her laptop.

"What happened?!" Marie asked.

"I-I…was getting her food tray and she Superjumped out." I told her. "I tried to stop her, but she…pulled a trick on me and got the upper-hand…"

"It's alright, she's known for playing dirty." Marie sighed. "I'm just glad you're alright. However, we need to figure out where Cass went."

I got up as she walked over to Marina.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"We're looking at the security footage to try to figure out where she went." Marina said.

Wait...security footage?!

"Uh, Marie…" I tried to get her attention. "Maybe we should-"

I then saw both Marie and Marina's eyes widen at the screen. Marina covered her mouth while repeatedly looking at the screen, then me. Marie then turned and glared at me.

I stood there, completely embarrassed as she walked over.

 ***SLAP!***

"You're no longer allowed on guard duty!" Marie shouted.

"Yes, Marie…" I mumbled.

 **Continued in LII Chapter 25**

 **Author's note: I'm usually against it when people put lyrics to actual songs in their fanfics when they want a song, but I felt like the song actually fit since I imagine Sea Shanties would still be a thing in the Splatoon universe. Well, it fits better than some of the other real-world songs I've seen put in fanfics in my opinion.**


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